Seasonal and Age Dependent Variations in Meat Yield of Abu Mullet (Planiliza Abu (Heckel, 1843)) from Orontes River

Seasonal and age dependent variations in meat yield of abu mullet (Planiliza abu (Heckel, 1843)) from Orontes River

Gülnaz ÖZCAN*, Ayhan ALTUN, Berna Funda ÖZBEK İskenderun Technical University, Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, Hatay, Turkey. *Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract: Investigation on the seasonal and age dependent meat yield of Planiliza abu has been carried out on 299 specimens collected from Orontes River between April 2012 and March 2013. Analysis of meat yield was based on the calculation of the ratio between the body weight and the weight of organs or body parts e.g. head, fins, and internal organs. Average meat yield was found to be 65.51% and head weight was 16.54% of the body weight. Weight ratios of fin, internal organs and other parts including gonads of the fish to body weight found as 2.47%, 11.74% and 3.74%, respectively. Age dependent average meat yields have varied from 63.34% at age 0 to 70.68% at age IV. Therefore, it can be concluded that average meat yield (productivity) increases with the age. Seasonal productivity was minimum in winter (63.16±1.51%) and maximum in autumn (66.41±0.43%). Moreover, there were strong correlations between body weight and head weight, and the weight of internal organs, and meat yield, and correlations were determined as 0.9283, 0.8354 and 0.9668, respectively.

Keywords: Planiliza abu, meat yield, Orontes River, Hatay.

Introduction inhabiting Orontes River Basin. Abu mullet, Planiliza abu, is the only freshwater representative of this genus. Besides Euphrates and Tigris Materials and Methods Rivers, P. abu is found in Orontes River (Özcan, 2013). This study was carried out using specimens collected This species is an exotic (alien) species for the River monthly for 12 months from April 2012 to March 2013. Orontes and Yalçın-Özdilek (2003) claimed that this Specimens were collected either by electrofishing or using species introduced to this river by human around the year fishing nets. Specimens were transported into the 2000. In addition, it is commercially important due to its laboratory prior to length and weight measurements. Fork high economic importance (Abd et al., 2009). lengths of the specimens were measured with 1 mm The Orontes River (Asi in Turkish and Arabic) is the precision. Likewise total weight (TW), head weight main river draining to the Levant coastline of the (HW), internal organ weight (IOW), gonad weight (GW) Mediterranean Sea. The Orontes River is an important and fin weight (FW) were measured at 0.01 g precision freshwater resource of the Eastern Mediterranean region using a sensitive electronic scale. and 380 km long in total. The river rises from Lebanon Dissection and weight measurements of the body parts and crosses Syria before running into the Mediterranean and organs were carried out after scaling of specimens Sea in Samandağ, a town of the Hatay Province, Turkey. intact. Internal organs except gonads were weighed The length of the river in Turkey is 94 km and it passes following abdominal dissection of the specimens. through Antakya (Antioch), the central town of Hatay. Dissection of heads and fins were also realized The tributaries of Orontes River are Karasu, Afrin, Büyük meticulously for measurements. Carcass weight was Karaçay and Küçük Karaçay streams in Turkish determined by weighing fish remaining after the boundaries (Özcan et al., 2012). The aim of this study is dissection of body parts and organs, and meat yield (%) to provide information on the meat yield of P. abu was calculated by determining the ratio of the weight of 67

ACTA BIOLOGICA TURCICA 29(2): 67-71, 2016

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of weight of Planiliza abu.

Measurements Ratios Min Max Mean±SD TW (g) 0.30 66.40 11.79±0.71 HW (g) 0.06 9.35 1.68±0.09 FW (g) 0.02 1.91 0.32±0.03 CW (g) 0.20 44.5 8.70±0.69 IOW (g) 0.02 9.75 1.53±0.10 Fork Length (cm) 3.7 18.5 10.0±0.20 HW/TW (%) 8.19 30.43 16.54±0.40 FW/TW (%) 0.82 6.67 2.47±0.12 IOW/TW (%) 3.64 27.17 11.74±0.25 Meat Yield (%) 46.15 75.38 65.51±0.69 CW/TW

Table 2. Age dependent meat yield and proportions of body parts and organs of Planiliza abu.

Age N HW/TW IOW/TW GW/TW FW/TW Meat Yield % % % % % 0 80 19.88±0.36 9.75±0.43 4.64±0.68 2.39±0.08 63.34±1.37 I 91 16.40±0.24 12.23±0.47 3.96±0.29 2.40±0.06 65.01±0.71 II 85 14.74±0.31 12.67±0.44 3.07±0.47 2.61±0.14 66.91±0.93 III 41 14.17±0.38 12.63±0.69 3.38±0.66 2.70±0.05 67.12±0.51 IV 2 14.12±0.65 12.12±0.75 0.59±0.39 2.49±0.12 70.68±1.21 carcass to the weight of the whole fish. Otolith reading was performed to determine the age of fish. Sagittal otoliths of specimens were cleaned with distilled water, and then, placed in a petri dish containing 1:1 distilled water and glycerin. Age reading was carried out using stereomicroscope equipped with the overhead light. Descriptive statistics; minimum (Min) and maximum (Max) values, mean (M) and standard deviation (SD) of analyses has been given in Table 1.

Results Figure 1. Age dependent meat yield and proportions of body part of Planiliza abu. The proportion of the body parts and organs revealed that head comprised %16.54 of total weight (Table 1). Internal of P. abu increases with the age (Table 2). organs, gonads and fins were %11.74%, 3.74% and 2.47% Seasonal variations in the meat yield and proportions of the weight, respectively. Remaining 65.51% was the of body parts of P. abu inhabiting in Turkish part of meat yield of P. abu. Orontes (Asi) summarized in Table 2. Accordingly, Age dependent average meat yield of the individuals seasonal variation in meat yield (between 63.16% in of P. abu varied between 63.34% for age 0 and 70.68% for winter and 66.41% in spring) was similar to that of the age IV and it was vise versa for head weight ratio with head weight/total weight (16.03% and 17.71%, 14.12% for age IV and 19.88% for age 0 (Table 2). The respectively). The rate of internal organs was the highest proportion of the internal organs was the highest (12.67%) (15.24%) in spring and reached to the lowest value at age II while it was the lowest (9.75%) at age 0. FW/TW (9.61%) in autumn. In contrast, the proportion of the ratio ranged from 2.39% (age 0) to 2.70% (age III). The weight of fins to total body weight was the lowest (2.36%) proportion of the gonads was the most fluctuating in spring and the highest (2.65%) in autumn. The ratio of parameter. It was 4.64% of the total weight at age 0. the gonads was the most fluctuating parameter as it was Whereas the lowest value for gonad weight ratio (0.59%) the same in age dependent proportions. The results of was obtained at age IV. Figure 1 shows that the meat yield seasonal variation regarding the ratio of gonad weight 68 Özcan-Seasonal and age dependent variations in meat yield of abu mullet

of Cobitis avicennae Table 3. Seasonal variations of meat yield and proportions of Planiliza abu.

Seasons N HW/TW IOW/TW GW/TW FW/TW Meat Yield % % % % % Spring 56 16.09±0.48 15.24±0.59 0.43±0.65 2.36±0.05 65.88±0.43 Summer 62 16.50±0.30 11.93±0.65 4.23±0.81 2.37±0.11 64.97±0.91 Autumn 71 17.71±0.38 9.61±0.45 3.62±0.33 2.65±0.45 66.41±0.43 Winter 110 16.03±0.37 11.22±0.26 7.06±0.27 2.53±0.06 63.16±1.51

fish species of Turkey (Table 4) such as Barbus capito pectoralis (Duman et al., 2003), Chondrostoma meandrense (Özcan and Balık, 2006), Capoeta bergamae (Şaşı, 2009) and Capoeta umbla (Kurt-Kaya et al., 2013). However, Zencir and Korkmaz (2004) reported a higher average meat yield for Tinca tinca. Meat was considerably lower for Alburnus orontis (Bozkurt et al., 2006), Oncorhynchus mykiss (Aydın et al., 2009), Squalius cephalus (Karaton and Gürel-İnanlı, 2011), Capoeta trutta (Kurt-Kaya et al., 2013) and Carassius gibelio (Dağtekin Figure 2. Seasonal changes in meat yield and proportions in and Baştürk, 2014). Differences in average meat yield can Planiliza abu. be attributed to the species, habitat and available revealed that the gonads were almost empty (0.43% of the resources. Nevertheless, meat yield was usually found to total weight) in spring and reached to 7.06% in winter be more than 50% of total weight of the species except in (Table 3). the case of C. gibelio. Based on the results, the seasonal variations in the It was found that the meat yield of P. abu increased proportions of fins and head were rather low in compare with the age and varied from 63.34% at age 0 to 70.68 at to the variations in the meat yield and the rate of internal age IV. Zencir and Korkmaz (2004) reported that that the organs (Fig. 2). While the meat yield is high in spring; a meat yield of T. tinca inhabiting Beyşehir Lake was decrease was obvious in summer. The consequent 54.34% and 54.60% for I year-old males and females, increase in autumn was followed by a drop to the lowest respectively. The meat yield at age VI was 62.40% for value in winter. The weight of the gonads was the most males and 62.42% for females. Meat yield of O. mykiss varying parameter and a sudden drop, most possibly due inhabiting Euphrates River ranged from 56.57% at the age to spawning, was observed in spring after a peak in winter. of age II to 61.47% at the age of V (Aydın et al., 2009). Calculation of correlations has revealed that there were Şaşı (2009) reported the meat yield of C. bergamae of strong positive correlations between total body weight and Topçam Dam Lake as 65.21% at age I and 67.62% for age the parts and organs of P. abu. The correlation with head V. Karaton and Gürel-İnanlı (2011) found that the values weight found to be r2=0.9694 (y=0.1621x+0.0469). The were between 57.50% (age II) and 61.63% (age VIII) for value was r2=0.9242 (y=0.1506x-0.0691) for the weight S. cephalus inhabiting Keban dam lake. Kurt-Kaya et al. of internal organs. It was r2=0.9652 (y=0.0155x+0.0135) (2013) reported that Capoeta trutta and C. umbla living in for fins ratio and the correlation with gonad weight was Uzunçayır Dam Lake exhibited lowest meat yield found to be r2=0.8732 (y= 0.0159x+1.3664). Moreover, a (56.61% and 54.65%, respectively) at age I. However, strong positive correlation was also found between total maximum yield observed at age XI for the first species body weight and meat yield (y=0.6427x+0.0586; and at age VII for the second species, and the values were r2=0.9499). 60.08% and 59.50%, respectively. Based on the results, that the meat yield increases in P. abu in parallel to the Discussion increasing age. Meat yield of P. abu was found to be 65.51±0.33% of total It was reported that total weight was strongly body weight. This ratio was similar to those of freshwater positively correlated with head weight, internal organ

69 ACTA BIOLOGICA TURCICA 29(2): 67-71, 2016

Table 4. Meat yield and proportion of body parts and organs in different fish species.

Author Location Species Size HW/TW % IOW/TW % FW/TW % Meat Yield % T:101 15.40±0.20 10.20±0.22 3.09±0.06 63.04±0.30 Barbus capito Duman et al., 2003 Keban Dam Lake F:45 15.20±0.28 10.22±0.34 3.14±0.09 62.98±0.46 pectoralis M:56 15.56±0.29 10.20±0.29 3.05±0.07 63.08±0.40 T:200 15.26±0.10 9.01±0.17 2.75±0.03 69.78±0.23 Zencir and Korkmaz, 2004 Beyşehir Lake Tinca tinca F:98 15.14±0.14 8.87±0.23 2.71±0.04 70.11±0.33 M:102 15.38±0.14 9.15±0.24 2.79±0.05 69.47±0.31 Bozkurt et al., 2006 Kirmir Creek Alburnus orontis T:80 14.08±0.96 13.60±0.16 13.93±0.54 58.39±0.55 Chondrostoma Özcan ve Balık, 2006 Kemer Dam Lake T:208 11.81±0.44 15.63±1.04 1.99±0.08 66.95±0.95 meandrense Oncorhynchus Aydın et al., 2009 Fırat River T:78 9.26-12.93 11.45-16.7 1.04-1.32 56.57-61.8 mykiss Şaşı, 2009 Topçam Dam Lake Capoeta bergamae T:150 10.70±0.48 12.12±1.57 2.55±0.15 65.49±1.80 F:52 16.65±1.67 13.77±3.43 1.85±0.30 55.98±4.70 Karaton and Gürel İnanlı, 2011 Keban Dam Lake Squalius cephalus M:60 16.12±1.62 11.98±2.18 1.90±0.38 57.63±3.38 Uzunçayır Dam Capoeta trutta T:100 10.65 17.22 2.78 57.57 Kurt-Kaya et al., 2013 Lake Capoeta umbla T:100 12.42 11.51 2.25 61.92 F:29 23.19±0.28 16.79±0.47 10.70±0.17 23.30±0.36 Dağtekin and Baştürk, 2014 Çıldır Lake Carassius gibelio M:22 26.90±0.42 10.88±0.34 12.68±0.22 24.61±0.40 T:51 24.79±0.43 14.24±0.59 11.55±0.24 23.87±0.39 Present Study Asi River Planiliza abu T:299 16.54±0.20 11.74±0.25 2.47±0.06 65.51±0.33 T, total; F, female; M, male. weight and fin weight. Aydın et al. (2009) reported a 161-171. correlation bigger than r=0.95 for O. mykiss. Similarly, Aydın R., Ural M.Ş., Çakmak M.N., Şen D. 2009. Fırat Nehri Dağtekin and Baştürk (2014) also claimed that Gökkuşağı Alabalığı (Oncorhynchus mykiss)’nın yaş correlations for C. gibelio were strong although their gruplarına göre bazı organları ile et verimi arasındaki ilişki. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Eğirdir Su Ürünleri calculations of r2 ranged between 0.7965 and 0.8904. The Fakültesi Dergisi, 5(1-2): 42-49. (In Turkish) result of this study on P. abu supports the strong positive Bozkurt Y., Bekcan S., Çelik-Çakıroğulları G. 2006. İnci relationship between total weight and the weights of body balığının (Alburnus orontis, Sauvage 1882) et parts and organs of fish species. The correlations for kompozisyonu ve mevsimsel değişimi. Tarım Bilimleri P. abu were to be r2=0.9694 for HW/TW, r2=0.9242 for Dergisi, 12(1): 70-73. (In Turkish) IOW/TW, r2=0.9652 for FW/TW and r2= 0.8732 for Dağtekin B.B., Baştürk Ö. 2014. Çıldır Gölü’nde yaşayan GW/TW. Gümüşi Havuz Balığının (Carassius gibelio Bloch, 1782) et As a result of the meat yield of P. abu, which was verimi ve biyokimyasal kompozisyonu. Yunus Araştırma introduced to the River Orontes around the year 2000, was Bülteni, 2: 15-22. (In Turkish) found to suitable for consumption as food. It was also Duman E., Yüksel F., Pala M. 2003. Barbus capito pectoralis (Heckel, 1843)’in büyüme özellikleri ile et veriminin determined that the meat yield increased as the age of fish incelenmesi. E.Ü. Su Ürünleri Dergisi, 20(3-4): 391-398. (In increased. Hence, this species is highly valuable for the Turkish) consumption by the local people. A considerable increase Karaton N., Gürel-İnanlı A. 2011. Tatlı su kefali (Squalius after age II suggests that fishing of the species older than cephalus)’nin et verimi ve besin bileşimine mevsimsel II years old is advisable for sustainability and economical değişimin etkisi. Fırat Üniv. Fen Bilimleri Dergisi, 23(1): value to the fisheries industry. Therefore, it is also 63-69. (In Turkish) advisable that fishing of individuals younger than III years Kurt-Kaya G., Erol-Mercan R., Yüksel F., Kurtoğlu M. 2013. old should be banned. Furthermore, P. abu could be an Tunceli Uzunçayır Baraj Gölü’nde yaşayan Karabalık alternative species to be cultured in the future since the (Capoeta trutta Heckel, 1843) ve Siraz (Capoeta umbla meat yield of the species matches with the meat yield of Heckel, 1843) balıklarının et verimlerinin incelenmesi. Yunus Araştırma Bülteni, 4: 9-14. (In Turkish) species already under culture. Özcan G., Balık S. 2006. Kemer Baraj Gölü’ndeki

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